Naoki Kashima (Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne)
The Anchor for the Conception Branch of the Amalaverse (also referred to as the Shin Megami Tensei universe). Due to a series of glitches and massive problems in his home Loop, Naoki is infamous all across Yggdrasil for his short fuse, reckless attitude, cynical personality, and monstrous, horrific power. Also due to events that happened in his baseline, he has the spirit of a demon dwelling in his mind as a Co-Anchor. Called "Kashima," it is noticeably more cold (and somehow still hammier) than Naoki, and claims to be a sociopath. Kashima is the 'True Demon' from Nocturne's secret ending, who was meant to lead the armies of Lucifer against YHVH. Description Naoki is almost always in the form of a demon-human hybrid. When seen in his usual shirtless attire, he is covered in glowing tattoos, and has a small horn on the back of his neck. If he is not in his demonic form, he is usually seen in simple black pants and a hoodie with the graphic of a demon on it. Throughout all his forms, he has short black hair and grey eyes. When using his stronger demonic powers, his entire body save his tattoos turns pitch black for a few moments, until the effects of the spell have resolved. History Naoki was chosen as the Anchor for his home universe solely because he was the only suitable candidate for the job, even though the Loop was damaged enough to have warranted a Read-Only designation by some Admins. Much to his misfortune, the only other Loopers native to his universe are a Pixie he meets early on in the baseline and a Jack Frost demon running a shop. The structure of his universe is unusually rigid (or so he claims): no matter what he does, he is forced to see all of the world die in a magical calamity called The Conception, and to see his few remaining friends and everyone he knows die horrible deaths. As one can imagine, this left him in a very agitated state for an incalculable number of years. This eventually culminated in a visit to Equestria, where he refused the help of the Sanctuary Loop due to having bad experiences with ponies in a prior Bureau Loop. However, after learning of the peaceful lives the ponies lived every Loop, he snapped, transforming into a dark, Nightmare-Force-influenced alter-ego known as the Fiend, and proceeded to terrorize Equestria until the ponies finally managed to stop him. Even after they were able to purge The Fiend's influence from him, Naoki was still left in a berserker rage, and proceeded to slaughter everyone he saw upon Awakening in each Loop, whether home or abroad. As the Demi-Fiend, a living weapon meant to kill YHVH itself, he accomplished this rather spectacularly, effectively making him a MLE during this short period. After a narrowly aborted attempt at Ascension, Naoki made a discovery involving the nature of his universe, and did something that damaged his code enough to make him a Traveling Looper, as well as dealing with an inherent flaw in the Amalaverse alongside his fellow Anchors. His rampages left him as somewhat of a pariah among the Looping community, however: a mistake he may have to pay for throughout eternity. Loop Gained Abilities Demonic Magic: Due to being transformed into a Demi-Fiend in Baseline, Naoki has access to a wide variety of magical skills, such as elemental attacks, status buffs and debuffs, piercing strikes, and the dreaded Freikugel. Depending on the Magatama he has ingested, he also has an array of resistances and immunities to various attacks, up to and including immunity to everything but the most powerful of spells and fighters. However, the source of his demonic power lies in his horn, the external component of his Magatama: damaging it would severely inhibit Naoki's abilities. Subspace Pocket: An ability almost every Looper learns, Naoki can take an object and "hide it away" from the rest of the world. An item in a Subspace Pocket will remain there even if the Loop resets, unless it is Looping itself or designated as read-Only. Notably, Kashima has his own Pocket separate from Naoki's, where he keeps (somewhat grotesque) trophies of battle such as a "Museum of Severed Heads." Flight: Due to time spent in several Loops where individuals can fly, such as Touhou and Dragon Ball, Naoki can fly, and even achieve escape velocity and leave a planet's atmosphere for outer space, meaning that nowhere is safe. Persona: While not shown in the Loops quite yet, Naoki has access to a Persona from the nearby Persona universe. Unusually, Kashima also has access to his own Persona as well, further establishing him as a separate entity. Relationships Local Loopers: Often the only other Loopers Naoki ever saw until his breakdown, Looping demons such as Pixie and Hee-Ho were his only companions. The three are very close, but tend to argue amongst themselves. Other Amalaverse characters: After his breakdown, Naoki began to see much more of his fellow SMT Loopers, usually congregating into a group including him, Flynn, Isabeau, and Langdon Alder. They get along well, for the most part. Dante Sparda: Due to having a great number of Tandem Runs with Naoki's universe, Naoki and Dante are close friends. They often go to various Looper bars together, and are able to use their demonic abilities together for devastating effect. Charmander: One of the first Loopers to meet Naoki after he recovered from his breakdown, Charmander quickly befriended him due to Naoki's love of the Pokemon games as a child. While he often disagrees with Charmander and Chikorita, Naoki at least trusts them enough to watch his back in a fight. Equestrians: Unlike many other Loopers, Naoki does not get along well with the Equestrian Loopers. Due to a bad first impression in a Bureau Loop, Naoki refused their help, which lead to his above breakdown and attempted massacre of Equis. Even after he recovered, the relationship between the ponies and himself is strained. Shinji Ikari: Though most of the Original Seven do not have any significant relationship with Naoki, it is noted that Shinji respects and pities Naoki and that they have an understanding due to how mutually horrific their loops can be. '''Slaanesh: '''The two meet in an Eiken loop, and later in the Warhammer Branch where Naoki decide to give into Slaanesh's invention to enjoy the Chaos God personal chambers and managed to keep up with the Chaos God. Since then, the two have been in an open relationship, much to the discomfort of everyone else as they are not quiet about what they get up to. Category:Anchor Category:Looper Category:Characters